Will Bran Stark become king in Game of Thrones' ending delivered an almighty shocker - even by the series' usual standards - when a great council gathered and decided to elect Bran as Westeros' new ruler. The guy who is now the Three-Eyed Raven and no one really understands? The character who was once missing from an entire season? After years of speculation about who'd end up on the Iron Throne at the end being one of the dominant conversations around the show, it definitely felt like a rug-pull, and a controversial one at that.

And yet, there is logic to it. So many kings in Game of Thrones were those who wanted power (or were controlled by those who did), whereas Bran seemingly has no desires. He also can't father children, meaning there's no new dynasty being created. And, as the Three-Eyed Raven, he can see the past and learn from it. It's not a perfect decision and wasn't perfectly executed, but, surprising as it was, it is expected to be repeated in the books.

Bran Stark Is Expected To Become King In A Song Of Ice & Fire

It Wasn't Just Invented By Game Of Thrones

While it's possible to look back at Game of Thrones for clues Bran would be king, and to look at various explanations about why he's suited for it and how it upends 300 years of how the monarchy has operated in Westeros, there's a much simpler reason for why it happened in the show: George R.R. Martin told David Benioff and D.B. Weiss it was the plan for the books.

Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright confirmed King Bran came from Martin when discussing the ending back in 2019.

The trio had a spoiler-filled meeting back in 2013, when it became apparent there was a serious risk of the show overtaking the books (something Martin still hoped to avoid at that point). While the author doesn't plan everything in advance, he did lay out a lot of his plans, and that seemingly included this twist. Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright confirmed King Bran came from Martin when discussing the ending back in 2019:

[Creators] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] told me there were two things [author] George R.R. Martin had planned for Bran, and that was the Hodor revelation, and that he would be king. So that’s pretty special to be directly involved in something that is part of George’s vision. It was a really nice way to wrap it up.

This actually makes far more sense as a Martin reveal than it does being purely a show twist, because the books have long been far more interested in Bran as a character (whereas, again, the show dropped him entirely from an entire season). It's clear throughout the novels that Martin has a fondness for the characters he refers to as "cripples, bastards, and broken things" and seeing them succeed, and Bran is the first POV character in the books after the Prologue. Martin is working towards King Bran, but it'll be a long time yet.

The Winds Of Winter Is Too Early For Bran Stark To Become King

There's A Lot That Still Needs To Happen In A Song Of Ice & Fire

When discussing the future of A Song of Ice and Fire, most of the focus is on the next book. There's a good reason, because The Winds of Winter is taking a long time, and when it will release - if it releases at all - is the single biggest question surrounding the series. However, it's also worth ing there's supposed to be another book after it: A Dream of Spring will be the actual ending, as things stand.

Heading into the book, [Bran is] still undergoing training in the cave of the Three-Eyed Crow

The Winds of Winter, then, will be much too soon for Bran to become king. Heading into the book, he's still undergoing training in the cave of the Three-Eyed Crow (changed to Raven for the TV show). He is continuing to develop his powers with visions and warging into Hodor, and it's likely that will dominate a lot of his story in the sixth book. Similar to Game of Thrones season 6, it might well see the Three-Eyed Crow dying, and Bran having to take his place, as well as the tragic death of Hodor.

Not only is Bran's story too preoccupied beyond the Wall to conceivably get him to King's Landing to become the new king, but so too are the political events and machinations in the south. Aegon Targaryen, aka Young Griff, has arrived in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and is already set to take power in the stormlands. It's very likely he - with from Dorne, as well as the Golden Company - will take the Iron Throne.

Unfortunately, I am 13 years late. Every time I say that, I’m [like], ‘How could I be 13 years late?’ I don’t know, it happens a day at a time. But that’s still a priority. A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They’re saying] ‘Oh, he’ll never be finished.’ Maybe they’re right. I don’t know. I’m alive right now! I seem pretty vital! - George R.R. Martin's update on The Winds of Winter in December 2024.

It's also possible The Winds of Winter will then set up - if not arrive at - a confrontation between Aegon and Daenerys Targaryen. She will presumably set sail for Westeros at some point in Winds, and that lays the groundwork for another Dance of the Dragons as one Targaryen faces another for the Iron Throne. With all of that - and, oh yeah, the not-so-small matter of the White Walkers - there's far too much that still needs to happen before Bran Stark can become king. But that is also an advantage.

The Winds Of Winter Can Better Set Up King Bran Stark Better

Game Of Thrones Could've Done More To Suggest It Would Happen

Although I don't actually mind Bran becoming king, it's very clear Game of Thrones needed to do more to set it up. For example, earlier in season 8, it actually cuts away from the conversation where Bran is about to tell his story to Tyrion... the very thing that could've properly explained the latter's much-derided "who has a better story than Bran the Broken?" line from the series finale. The books, which run longer and have a POV format, shouldn't make a similar mistake.

Martin's love of foreshadowing can be continued throughout The Winds of Winter too, allowing for far more teases that Bran is destined to become Westeros' ruler in some way.

Martin's love of foreshadowing can be continued throughout The Winds of Winter too, allowing for far more teases that Bran is destined to become Westeros' ruler in some way. And most of all, it can begin establishing why Bran would be suited for it, fleshing out his character more and explaining exactly what him being the Three-Eyed Crow entails. The Winds of Winter is set to be a long book, and Bran should be a key part of it, and so that - along with A Dream of Spring - can make King Bran much, much better.

• The Winds of Winter
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  Game of Thrones

  Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.